It was a cold, snowy day on top of this lonely plateau deep within the Phoenix Mountains, the season remaining ever unchanging, cold, unwavering, though, familiar. The Silver Wolf guild hall, of course, was exempt from these harsh weather conditions through the wonders of magic. Naturally, all of this was still rather new to Aspen Azarov, the girl from Pergrande who had, not longer than a short while ago, found herself in Fiore, without funds or direction, of course, luckily for herself happening upon Silver Wolf, the guild that had readily taken her in, giving her a new home and a new purpose in the process. Not only had Silver Wolf, a mage's guild, as she had later learned, provided the means for her to advance her understanding of magic and all things magical vastly, it had also given her the tools she needed to achieve her own personal goals, the soldier girl feeling her magic power grow by the day. Of course, she still hadn't gotten around to adapting to all of these changes, especially these rather ... strange and eccentric traditions that Fiore held. Still, in these mountains, and in this weather, Aspen felt right at home. Not only that ... there was also the fact that the girl was still an engineer, and Silver Wolf was kind enough to offer their members the use of their admittedly well-equipped forge below the guild hall, which, for Aspen, was godsent.
So, of course, Aspen had gone ahead and made use of this generous offer, dressed in a simple, white tank top, her jacket bound around her waist, the pair of welding goggles firmly over her eyes, white-hot, glowing sparks sent flying in all directions with every strike of the hammer, the metal slowly but surely bending under the pressure of the forging process. It had been a while since Aspen had been asked to make a gun, she had mostly just worked on repairs, and she had never designed one, but simple muzzle-loading smoothbores would certainly be easy enough to do. Of course, she was producing these on demand of that smith from Ca-Elum under the newly formed ... "business partnership" they had agreed on, as they would call it. This whole free-market economy thing seemed strangely disorganized to the girl, but, she had to admit, she preferred it over the planned economy of the motherland. Everything was available in abundance and people were free to do with their workforce as they pleased. Of course, people with special talents, such as mages, had a high chance of making a fortune, a factor not escaping the young girl who had had less spending power than the next homeless beggar on the street just a few weeks ago.
Dipping the still glowing barrel for the weapon in water, hot steam and boiling liquid thrown up, the girl placed the now shaped metal tube on the table next to her before setting down her tongs, taking off the welding glasses and wiping the sweat off her forehead. The girl moved on to a next table, grabbing a water bottle and taking a large sip from the clear liquid, taking a moment to catch a breath. The forge area was rather hot, and although it was open to allow for the circulation of air, the heat still wouldn't subside, but that came with the process, naturally. She took a look at her wristwatch. It was still early morning. Aspen preferred to get up and work early, a remnant from the routine she had adopted when she had still been a soldier in Pergande's fighting forces, and although that was the case, she had learned to love the commodities the cafeteria of Silver Wolf had to offer, the hot, dark beverage called "Coffee" in particular. Of course, there was nothing to say against a hearty breakfast either, Aspen convincing herself that a break was in order, throwing her jacket over her shoulders before making her way out of the door, her goal the much-desired breakfast.
A few minutes later the girl was comfortably sat one of the tables within the cafeteria itself, a cup of steaming black coffee as well as a plate with a large breakfast croissant before her. She was happy, excited, even, to start digging in, although her ever-stoic expression would show no sign of that ... that was until someone just sat down across from her, without asking as well, seeming like the happiest motherfucker on earth, a wide, shit-eating grin on his face. With what the girl had learned in Pergrande, the amount of happiness the other displayed already convinced Aspen that the guy was an idiot. Either that or mentally challenged. Not just that, Aspen had no idea who the man was, she had, as far as she was aware, never met him before, but already he would inquire about going on a job. Aspen's brows nudged closer together ever-so-slightly. Or ... was the man perhaps trying to make advances? She was ready to shoot him down right then and there, already opening her mouth to tell the guy to fuck off when she thought about it for just a second more, or, more specifically, she thought of the potential reward that would be attached to "a job". Considering her financial status, well, she had not much of a choice. She closed her eyes, taking a breath, mumbling
"Well, Theo ..." in response to the weirdo. The other certainly didn't beat around the bush, though, one thing that the soldier appreciated.
"... do you have anything in mind? What are your skills? What is it you specialize in?", she asked, her accent, although more subtle than before when she had first arrived, still noticeable, a stern look mustering the idiot. Was this really the best he could do? She had to suppress the desire to facepalm. Well, only time would tell.
"I am Aspen Laeta Azarov, by the way", she quickly followed up with her own introduction to prevent any follow-up questions from the other.
"Engineer, Gunsmith, and newly accepted magus of Silver Wolf. Just ... delighted to make your acquaintance". The emphasis on delighted made it obvious that the politeness was more sarcastic than anything.
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Thread Word Count Total: 1,487
![Senior [500]](https://i.imgur.com/Nmfn8cD.png)
![Novice [250]](https://i.imgur.com/lrYlde6.png)
